Eww… most Americans use cell phones in the bathroom

Three-fourths of Americans with cell phones use them in the bathroom, “talking, tweeting and typing” even while on the toilet, according to a new tech survey.

Two-thirds of users say they’ve answered calls and sent text messages in the bathroom, and men are more likely to do so than women, marketing group 11mark found and LiveScience reported.

From the story:

More than half the surveyed users (63 percent) said they have answered a phone call in the bathroom, and almost half (41 percent) reported initiating a phone call.

That’s not all, however: What goes on behind the walls of the stalls is anything a mobile phone is capable of. Sixty-seven percent said they have read a text, and 39 percent have surfed the Web. Men work more from the bathroom—20 percent said they have participated in work-related calls, versus 13 percent of their female colleagues….

In the process, high-tech hygiene is taking a hit, the survey found. While 92 percent of mobile phone users said they wash their hands after using the bathroom, only 14 percent said they wash their phones.

Etiquette experts say chatting while in the bathroom is not only rude to the person on the other end but also to anyone trying to, ahem, do their business.

“The bathroom is supposed to be a private space ‑- even if it’s a public restroom. When someone comes in to make a call, she’s invading your privacy by forcing you to listen in. Not to mention that she’s tying up a stall,” wrote Peggy Post, of the Emily Post Institute. “Yes, you might also overhear friends chatting in a restroom ‑- but a cell conversation could be a lot longer. So here’s the message to mobile users: If you’d like to make a call, take it outside.”